Wimbledon: No. 1 Serena Williams ousted

LONDON -- In a 16-year career that has been interrupted by occasional bouts of illness and injury, Serena Williams has always competed with a ruthless intensity at Grand Slams, mindful that the majors ultimately define greatness in tennis.

That intensity deserted Williams on Saturday at Wimbledon, where the five-time champion and reigning world No. 1 was ousted in the third round by 24th-ranked Alize Cornet of France, who hit with more abandon and held her nerve for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that represented her career highlight.

Not since 2005 had Williams, 32, been ousted so early at Wimbledon. It continued an uncharacteristic pattern, marking the third consecutive major in which Williams failed to reach the quarterfinals, after a second-round loss at the French Open and a fourth-round loss at the Australian Open.

"Right now, I don't really know what I did wrong," Williams said afterward, sounding utterly disconsolate and genuinely lost. "Usually I do. Usually I know I did this, this and that."

Given her inability to reach the final eight of the last three majors, it's an open question whether something is amiss with Williams' game or whether her rivals are closing the gap in terms of the power and competitive fire.

"I think in general everyone plays the match of their lives against me," Williams said. "So I just have to always, every time I step on the court, be a hundred times better. If I'm not, then I'm in trouble."

During the match, Williams' coach could tell something was awry.

"Right now, she doesn't have her usual ability to respond and turn matches around," said Patrick Mouratoglou, who has worked with Williams since 2012. "It was obvious when she trailed 3-0 in the second set. Nothing happened."

Although Cornet had beaten Williams at a hard court tournament in Dubai in February, there was little reason to believe the Frenchwoman posed a threat to the No. 1 seed Saturday. Hardly a natural on grass, Cornet entered the match with a 6-7 record at Wimbledon, compared with Williams' 72-9 mark.

The Dubai victory served as a template for Cornet, who studied videotape of the match to review the tactics that worked (her drop shot, in particular) and remind herself that the upset was possible.

"It might be a bit premature to talk about her decline, but when she plays someone who finds the right tactics, she looks a bit lost on the court," Cornet said of Williams. "In my opinion, there are more and more players understanding how to play her."